culture
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Michelle Alexander on the War on Drugs: The Color of Drug Users Got Whiter, the Nation Got Nicer [Retracted]
RETRACTED (6/12/18): This story has been removed because we have discovered it was in breach of our editorial standards. If you’d like to know more, you can read an editor’s note here. A cached version of the story is available here for transparency.
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Janaya Khan, Black Lives Matter Leader, Dismantles FBI’s Fraudulent ‘Black Identity Extremist’ Report
From the days of COINTELPRO—the targeting of black human rights leaders and sowing dissent within the ranks of black organizations committed to freedom and liberation for black people—to its unofficial subsidiaries like the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, whose sole purpose was to violently oppress black communities, the FBI has often operated as a terrorist group out…
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#SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen, Part 2: On Rose McGowan and the Continued Failure of White Feminism
For once … I’d like to be wrong. For once, I’d like white feminists to not be so damn predictable. For once, I’d like white feminists to prove me wrong and do the complete opposite of what I expect them to do. For once, I’d like them to deviate from their typical play where they…
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Anthems I’d Stand For, Ranked
I have always stood for the national anthem—not because I believe in America and want to honor my country. I did it because … well … being black in America comes with the knowledge that there are certain things you must do just so you won’t piss off white people. But since this whole Colin…
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The Bolshevik Revolution Took Place 100 Years Ago. What Is Its Legacy With Black People?
One of the most powerful proclamations of the Bolshevik Revolution was that it would form a nation where everyone would be treated equally. The Kremlin was eager to exploit Western imperialism in Africa and the United States, where colonialism and Jim Crow were the rules of the land. The pledge was very appealing to black…
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For Dreadlocked Servicewomen, the Fight for Acceptance Is Both a Military and Civilian Battle
First Lt. Whennah Andrews of the U.S. Army National Guard tries to hide her braces while showing off her smile. But four years since first advocating against grooming regulations that barred soldiers from wearing natural hairstyles, her smile hints at relief over one of the final steps in the fight for acceptance. A decade-old ban…
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For Those Considering Blaxit, I Present to You: Japan
If Hollywood is to be believed, then gap years are the sole domain of white folks “finding themselves” in foreign lands. From Sean Penn’s accidental comedy Into the Wild, in which a diary entry that keeps threatening like a storm cloud to be a meaningful anecdote is reduced to an absurd cautionary tale about the…
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Black Heroes for Hire: Scratching the Black Panther Itch
As colorful as comics are, they have not always been kind to people of color. Even though Stan Lee and Marvel were bold enough to create the X-Men in reaction to the civil rights movement, not everyone else was so enlightened or has been so enlightened since (see #DonaldforSpiderman). The gap is noticeably present in…
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Oh No, White People! What Is Y’all Doing? Why Every Caucasian Needs a Black Friend
Contrary to popular belief, I do not wake up every morning trying to figure out how to attack my beloved Caucasian brothers. I only wish them peace and prosperity. In fact, every day I wake up before sunrise and whisper a plea to the Most High (Snoop Dog) for a special favor: Can I leave…
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Jemele Hill, Jerry Jones, the NCAA and the Sports Slave System
Stop. Before you object to my use of the word “slave,” let us be clear: I do not mean “slave” in the way you are thinking. I am not trying to invoke the pain and trauma of our ancestors in a hyperbolic comparison. When I write “slave,” I am not using it in the narrow…